Introducing a new Member: MJHarvey

Recycled Dreams: My Journey with Paper and Pulp

I have recurring dreams that infiltrate my life and influence my practice. One of these dreams is of endless hills of discarded clothing, and the quality of the dream is that I must find homes for every item. A heavy weight to bear. Coupled with growing up on a remote dairy farm with an acute awareness of resource limitation, I vividly remember my mother repurposing old cloth to make new clothes for me. These experiences are some of the reasons why recycled cotton pulp medium is at the forefront of my practice, alongside my concern for the environmental issues that fast fashion causes.

I am also drawn to and affected by undulating textural elements in my lived environment. When I traverse the cityscape, I photograph and mentally absorb surfaces for future reference in my studio. Textures of hard mottled concrete, brick and bitumen surfaces sprayed with paint by graffiti artists, council and construction workers hold my attention.

My pulp medium is made from a cutting, tearing, and mechanical beating process of cotton clothing and domestic cloth. I receive donated used cloth from my immediate community, holding the accompanying story of each item along with my own experiences to retell stories through the medium of pulp prints and objects that are meticulously layered with delicately sprayed textural surfaces.

I am constantly developing my practice and learning new techniques. I find traveling and visiting artists’ studios an important part of my practice. Most recently, I was accepted as an artist-in-residence at the Morgan Conservatory in Cleveland, USA, where I had a month to explore my practice using top facilities and to share and learn new techniques.

While I was in America, I visited New York City and Dia Beacon gallery where I was deeply inspired. One artist who particularly moved me was Senga Nengudi, for the way they use weight and color in their sculptures. Another significant influence is Katharina Grosse, whose immersive, large-scale painted installations challenge conventional relationships between architecture and painting. Grosse’s bold approach to color and texture resonates with my own explorations in pulp medium, inspiring me to push boundaries between materiality and space.

Through my work with Sydney Printmakers, I hope to continue exploring these themes of sustainability, texture, and storytelling, bringing my unique perspective on recycled materials to our collective exhibitions and sharing my techniques with fellow artists in the community.

www.melissajharvey.com

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